A group of York students has won the opportunity to have their very own I-phone application developed after winning The App Challenge final, held at the Ron Cooke Hub on Wednesday, January 18.
YUSU Welfare officer Bob Hughes has warned students to be vigilant after a student loans phishing scam has been revealed.
Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting York on Maundy Thursday, 5th April, as part of the 800th anniversary of York’s Charter for the traditional “Royal Maundy” ceremony.
A flood caused by a heating system “failure” forced the university IT services to shut down many essential systems on Sunday night, causing problems for many students on the eve of their exams and assignment due-dates.
Here at the yorker, we’ve spoken to the candidates running for the position of Chair this winter, Emma Bartlett and Kate Davey.
The Yorker: Why did you choose to run for chair?
Kate Davey: I've been on the JCRC for the past year, and it's going to sound cheesy but I've invested so much time and energy in it and feel like I've got so much more to give. The committee, and particularly the Chair, are such a crucial aspect of College life, (more so than you can even imagine at first!) and I wouldn't run for something so big if I didn't genuinely believe I can do the best job. Quite simply, I really want to see James do amazingly well this year, and I think the ideas I have could really help achieve this.
Emma Bartlett: think James College is the best college on campus and being on the committee is a great way to get involved! As one of the merchandise representatives last year I thoroughly enjoyed the impact we made with the new and improved hoodies with Nouse even commenting on them as 'the envy of all other colleges'. I really wanted to run for Chair this year as I want to get even more involved within the College and really make a difference!
The Yorker: What do you think the previous chair did well?
Kate Davey: Tim was a really amazing Chair, in that he struck the perfect balance between being fun and approachable, but respected and responsible. What he did well was that he trusted the committee to make their own decisions, and in return, the committee respected him, and really wanted to do a good job, for him.
Emma Bartlett: The previous Chair did amazingly well at improving College Events. Tim directed the committee really well and I would love to be able to do the same. He managed to keep the committee motivated and make the College events stand out. Tim was also very supportive of the new merchandise designs and was good at getting the committee to put forward its ideas.
The Yorker: How do you think you could improve on his performance? And if elected, what changes can James students expect for 2011?
Kate Davey: We've seen such an amazing turn around in James spirit this year, particularly with this term's events, and I really want to ensure that we don't lose momentum. I think we can now afford to be a lot more ambitious with our events - Quad Dash really has the potential to rival Big D. I also want to make sure that the Summer Formal happens again, which would require thinking ahead and fundraising well in advance. Also, I'm really pushing for the idea of a College as a community, I want to make it really inclusive, ensuring that no-one's slipping through the cracks - so my policy for termly informal open meetings where members of the college can sit and chat with the committee about their own ideas could really help. I don't want us to be neglecting any member of the college! Finally, I would reassess the positions on the committee and make sure they're all working to their full advantage - and specifically, I think we'd really benefit from creating a new position for Sponsorship to make sure that things such as the Quad Dash and Bash and merchandise (hoodies and joggers as well as sports merch) can be as good as they can be!
Emma Bartlett: If elected I would love to continue to build on the fantastic foundations left by the previous committee and really expand on the events introducing a week 10 event. I would like to get the College really involved and to able to see what the committee actually does. I would like to post minutes up onto the website every week so people can see what is being discussed. I would like to introduce a comments box on the webpage so that people can have a say on what we say. James is fantastic at sport and I would like to introduce a sports column into the newsletter with weekly updates on just how well we're doing! I would also like to post onto the website the scores from matches. My aim this year would be to get more people involved in the College and let them have their say. I want to make the position of Chair even more approachable with weekly drop ins where I would be more than happy to listen to people's ideas and views on how to improve the college. I want us to win RAG raid this year which I thoroughly believe we are capable of! I want everyone to also get more involved in volunteering and for us to win the college cup! Basically I just want to raise college spirit and do everything in my power if elected as chair to makes James College even better!
The Yorker: Do you think competition is good for college politics? Or would you have preferred to have run unopposed?
Kate Davey: Competition has pros and cons. On the plus side, for me, it brings out my most focused and ambitious side, and really motivates me to keep campaigning, and keep chatting to people. It's also good for people to have the choice, and something to compare against. Obviously also, if I were to win having been opposed it would be much more rewarding. But then negatively, I am spending this week worrying that even though I'm doing everything I can, I won't get to do something I'd really really love to.
Emma Bartlett: I think competition is extremely healthy for College politics. It means people have more of a choice in who makes decisions that will affect them. I am all for competition and being a competitive person myself I think it makes the election process more interesting for people to get involved with.
The Yorker: Any other comments?
Kate Davey: I think that my mixture of experience, motivation and ideas is what defines me as a candidate and what could make me the best Chair James has ever had!!
Emma Bartlett: I am an extremely enthusiastic, approachable and committed person who would do anything in my power to make James College even better than it is already!
Saturday morning saw voting open and will close on Friday 10th. But candidates and members of the college will have to wait until the James Christmas Formal on the 14th December for the results.
List of candidates running for James JCRC:
Chair: Emma Bartlett, Kate Davey
Welfare Vice Chair: James Wollard
Services Vice Chair: Emily Foste, Grace Teh
Student Development Vice Chair: Alia Khalil
Secretary: Roisin Mulligan
Treasurer: Alex Nguyen
Bar Reps: Louise Bond, Susie Brunswick, Benjamin Howe, Benjamin Ryves
Ents: Cameron Lane-Ley, Mark Ross Smith, Laura Watson, and Alice Garcia; Charlotte Griffiths, Cat Painter, and Natasha Munroe; Jack Clarke, Holly Campbell, Melissa Gunn, and Ben Heilbron ,
Merchandise Reps: Ro Butler, Emily Hartley, Louise Baxter
Volunteering Reps: Amber Fuller
Sports Reps: Andrew Yates, Ruari Phillips, and Rachel McMillan; Amy Moll, Elissa Bryan, Becky Gray, and George Richards
Welfare Reps: Jess Hambly; Rachael Farrington, Luke Spindler, Chelsea Wilmot, and Emma Hawkens
21+ Officer: Nathan Beebe
International Rep: Bartek Krzyszycha
LGBT Reps: Carl McCallin, Ellen Broderick
Extra-ordinary: Florence-Anne Stratton
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